This was the first conversation between Shen Yingruo and Shen Yueshan as father and daughter. She thought about how Shen Yueshan would look at her when she stood in front of him one day, would he turn a blind eye with indifference or look down on her with disgust.
There was none of these, no indifference or disgust, but rather earnest words. It was probably the first and perhaps the last teaching he gave her as a father, cruel, straightforward, yet true.
Obviously, it was much better than she expected, but why did her heart break into pieces? She didn't know how to respond, she just cried like rain, the more she cried, the more sad she became. In the end, she just didn't care and cried unrestrainedly, as if she wanted to cry out all the grievances in her life.
Shen Yueshan sat above her, just watching her cry quietly, without saying a word, neither comforting her, scolding her, nor getting angry.
Gradually, Shen Yingruo stopped crying. She felt dizzy and it took her a long time to calm down. Shen Yueshan told the servants outside, "Prepare toiletries for the second lady."
The servants immediately went down to prepare. Shen Yueshan said no more. Shen Yingruo, with the help of her maid, tidied her appearance and walked forward to Shen Yueshan and bowed: "It's getting late. Ah Ruo will take my leave."
"Yeah." Shen Yueshan responded.
Shen Yingruo looked at Shen Yueshan with deep longing, then turned and left.
Shen Yueshan watched her figure disappear in the gradually falling night. He sat alone in the room for a while before getting up and walking towards Shen Xihe's yard. He saw Shen Xihe teasing her short life and raising her finger to tell the servants guarding the door not to make a sound. He leaned over the door and carefully glanced at Shen Xihe's face. He was relieved to find that she was not unhappy at all.
"Prince?" Zi Yu, who brought tea over, called out to Shen Yueshan when she saw him.
This voice made Shen Xihe look up, and she saw Shen Yueshan standing up straight and pretending to straighten his clothes. She couldn't help but smile: "Zi Yu, give the tea to Dad."
Shen Yueshan's face lit up with joy. He looked at Shen Xihe and pointed at himself: "Prepared specially for me?"
"Sobering tea." Shen Xihe said.
Shen Yueshan's face froze: "I can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk. I won't drink!"
He needs to drink this stuff!
"Don't want to drink?" Shen Xihe asked in a drawn-out tone.
Shen Yueshan replied stubbornly: "No!"
"Biyu, send the Pitong wine that Prince Bu gave me to my brother in the northwest, and send him away early tomorrow morning." Shen Xihe raised his voice and ordered.
Biyu ran in, but before she could salute, Shen Yueshan stopped her with a loud shout: "No!"
After saying that, he strode towards Shen Xihe and said, "You treat your brother better than your father!"
"Brother listens to me and eats whatever I tell him to eat. Not to mention refusing, he doesn't even ask any questions." Shen Xihe snorted.
Shen Yueshan's eyes widened: "I am the father, I am the elder, how can we be the same?"
Shen Xihe stared at him and said, "Father means that since you are the elder, you should not listen to me. This will undermine your dignity as an elder."
As he spoke, Shen Xihe stood up and saluted Shen Yueshan in a proper manner: "Father, please forgive me for my offense just now. I will remember the rules of seniority and respect in the future and never go beyond the rules again..."
"No, no, no, I just said something out of turn. I just drank too much and am a little tipsy. Don't take it to heart." Shen Yueshan could not stand his daughter like this. When he thought about paying respects every morning and evening and following the rules in every move, wouldn't he be furious